The Ultimate Guide to Ice Hockey Betting Sites for the UK
Last updated: by Leon Marshal
Ice Hockey betting is becoming increasingly popular with punters looking for something different and followers of the sport. The high-adrenaline nature and unpredictability of the sport make it perfect for betting. In our guide to ice hockey betting sites, we will help you find that perfect bookie, and we’ll show you how to bet and suggest a few tournaments to wager on.
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Calling on our extensive knowledge of betting sites, we have checked all the legal UK bookmakers who offer ice hockey betting and have shortlisted the five who we are happy to recommend. We’ve done all the hard work for you, comparing welcome bonuses, odds levels and much more. Whether you are new to the sport or a fanatical follower, we are confident you’ll find this page useful.
The Best Ice Hockey Betting Sites and Why
We all have different ideas about what makes one company better than another. However, we can all agree on what are the ingredients that make a great customer experience when ice hockey betting online. A site should be easy to navigate, have the sport we wish to bet on and have plenty of different markets to bet on.
| Bookmaker | Sports Welcome Bonus | Highlights | Rating | Secure Link | T&C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LV BET | Get £10 | Markets: 15, Bet Types: 34, Odds Levels: 92.01% | 5.0 out of 5 | www.lvbet.com | Full T&Cs Apply! New players after 30.09.2020 | Valid on first Sports bet | Min. dep. £10 req. | Min. £10 wag. on first bet with min. total odds of 3/4 to qualify | Bet must be settled | Bonus Wag. req.1x on min. 2-fold combi bets (min. 1/4 odds each selection) with min. final odds of 4/5 | Virtual bets and cashed out bets do not qualify | One-time offer | Bonuses credited following working day | 18+ | begambleaware.org |
| Coral | £20 | Markets: 14, Bet Types: 33, Odds Levels: 92.35% | 5.0 out of 5 | www.coral.com | Full T&Cs Apply! *18+ Eligible UK+IRE players. Paypal & some deposit & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. No cashout, restrictions apply. |
| Betway | £10 | Markets: 14, Bet Types: 33, Odds Levels: 93.75% | 4.8 out of 5 | www.betway.com | Full T&Cs Apply! *New customers only. Min Deposit: £10. First deposit matched up to £10. 1 x wagering at odds of 1.75+ to unlock Free Bet. Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. This offer is valid for 7 days from your new account being registered. |
| Betfred | £30 | Markets: 15, Bet Types: 32, Odds Levels: 92.13% | 4.7 out of 5 | www.betfred.com | Full T&Cs Apply! Only available to new customers from UK & Northern Ireland. You must stake £10 or more at single/cumulative odds of Evens (2.0) or greater on your first bet. Free bet balance of £30 credited within 48 hours of your first bet being settled. Free Bets expire after 7 days. Offer not available to customers registering on 14/04/2018. E-Wallet restrictions apply. Game restrictions apply. Maximum 30 Free Spins on selected games. Free Spins expire after 7 days. |
| bwin | £20 | Markets: 13, Bet Types: 32, Odds Levels: 94.09% | 4.6 out of 5 | www.bwin.com | Full T&Cs Apply! 18+ | New UK players only | Min deposit req. £10 | Certain deposit methods excluded | Place 1 sport bet (3+ selections) | Excl Horse Racing | Min stake £10 | Max stake £20 | Min Odds 1/2 (1.5) for each selection | Max FreeBet £20 for football only | FreeBet valid for 7 days | FreeBet stake not returned |
The site should also offer a reasonable minimum deposit amount that enables you to try out the bookmaker without a large financial commitment. One of the most import factors when assessing a bookmaker is how safe it is to use. Online security is very important, and for this reason, only operators who are fully licenced and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission will ever feature on our pages.
Ice Hockey Betting Odds Levels
If we were to ask punters what is the most important aspect when ice hockey betting online, most would say value for money, and we would agree. If two companies offer the same level of customer service and a similar product, if one were offering better odds, we would naturally choose them. Therefore, we have checked our recommended sites to assess the value they offer.
| Average Payout Level For Top Tournaments | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | LV BET | Coral | Betway | Betfred | bwin | |||
| Euro Tour | 95.32% | 97.28% | 94.13% | 95.25% | 96.98% | |||
| Ice Hockey NHL | 92.01% | 96.32% | 93.01% | 92.42% | 96.32% | |||
| World Championship | 94.31% | 95.99% | 93.34% | 92.44% | 92.99% | |||
| Winter Olympics | 93.23% | 94.92% | 94.32% | 93.96% | 92.92% | |||
As you can see from the table above, all of our recommended ice hockey betting sites offered a return to player figure of over 92% in each of the four tournaments we checked the historical odds data for. This figure represents a maximum profit line of 8%, which is reasonable and what we would expect. The figures do show that it is worth considering having more than one bookmaker to choose from, even a modest difference of 2% in odds can equate to hundreds of pounds in the long run.
Ice Hockey Markets on Offer
As ice hockey betting is not exactly mainstream, you would image the bets you can place would be very limited, as is the case with other less common sports such as bandy or field-hockey, which is more popular on these shores than the ice variety of the sport.
| Number of Markets on Offer | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | LV BET | Coral | Betway | Betfred | bwin | |||
| Euro Tour | 42 | 38 | 40 | 42 | 40 | |||
| Ice Hockey NHL | 42 | 40 | 40 | 42 | 40 | |||
| World Championship | 46 | 42 | 44 | 44 | 44 | |||
| Winter Olympics | 46 | 46 | 38 | 40 | 42 | |||
However, far from having a limited range of events, ice hockey fans will find a surprisingly high number of tournaments covered. Another surprise is the range of different bets you can place on the sport, while this is often restricted to “to win bets” in other sports, there are often over 50 different match events you can place wagers on. We’ll cover these betting types in more details later in our betting types section.
Ice Hockey Bonuses and Promotions
One of the benefits of ice hockey betting online, rather than at a traditional bookmaker’s shop, is the great range of new customer offers that you can pick up when you open a new account with the company. Competition is fierce in the online sports betting arena, which means that you can benefit by taking advantage of these special deals for new joiners.
These promotions come in all shapes and sizes and which one is best for you will depend on how you plan to bet. A great option for those on a limited budget is Coral, just a £5 bet unlocks four free £5 bets, this equates to a 400% matched bonus in real terms. We are always checking for value in the market, keep up to date with all the best bookmakers deals by visiting our dedicated bonus page.
Live Ice Hockey Betting Arena
One innovation you can take advantage of when ice hockey betting is having a flutter on the game, while the action is still on. Called “live betting” or “in-play betting”, this great feature is a firm favourite of ours and has changed the way we place our bets. No longer do you have to panic about getting to the bookies before the event starts, you can now have a punt on the action right until the end of the game, all from the comfort of your armchair or while on the go with your mobile.
Using in-play couldn’t be easier. You need to log into your online bookmaker, and in the live ice hockey betting section, you will see the game listed. Click on it, and all the match details will be displayed. Depending on the scoreline and what is happening in the game, the odds fluctuate, meaning the odds in real-time could be very different from the pre-match odds. If you know a team is a slow or a fast starter, you can use this information to your advantage.
Utilising Cash Out When Ice Hockey Betting
Another great innovation you will find when ice hockey betting online is “cashing-out”. In the not so distant past, once you placed a bet, all you could do was wait until your bet had run its course and the bet would either be a winner or a loser.
While you can still place a bet and let it run, you also now have the ability to cash in your bet. This amount could be for a profit if things are going well, or it might be to cut your losses if things are not going so well on the rink. It’s worth mentioning that not all ice hockey markets are available for cashing-out. Coral, for example, only offer to cash out on Money Line, 60 Minutes, Will There Be Overtime, Total Goals and Double Chance bets.
Bet Types Available in Ice Hockey
While ice hockey betting may not be as popular in the UK as in other countries such as Canada and America, the choice of bets for the major games is pretty impressive and almost rivals football for the range of events in a game you can place bets on. In this next section, we take a closer look at these.
Team to Win Bet
If you want to keep things simple, then the team to win market is the easiest to place and understand. The bookmaker will offer odds based on how likely it thinks an event is likely to happen. The less probable an event is, the higher the odds and the greater return.
The team to win bet has three selections, the home team to win, the away team to win or the draw. A good tactic when ice hockey betting is if two teams are evenly matched, you can include the draw in your bet. Meaning as long as your team don’t lose, you’ll see a return.
Correct Score Market
A similar bet to the team to win bet is the correct score market. And as the name suggests, you are betting what the final score in the game will be. As predicting the exact score is a tricky thing to do, the odds that the bookmakers offer are much higher to reflect this.
This bet can be a useful part of your online ice hockey betting strategy when one team is expected to win the game easily. In this situation, the odds on the favoutite are unlikely to be favourable. Therefore, it may be a better option to predict a 3-0 or 4-0 win.
Over / Under Betting
A hugely popular bet for football fans, the Over/Under market is equally as thrilling when used for ice hockey betting. It’s an easy bet to understand and place. The bookmaker will set a figure of the total amount of goals scored by the two teams in the game; you have to decide whether the actual number is higher or lower than the bookmaker’s number.
For example, in the game between Irbis Kazan and Snezhnye Barsy, the bookmaker has set the Total Goals figure of 4.5. The Under market is priced at 11/5, and the Over market is 3/10. A minimum of five goals would be needed for the Over bet to win, a figure lower would see the Under bet win.
Emerging Features in Ice Hockey Betting
To give your ice hockey betting strategy the best chance of success, research is key, and thankfully, there are tools that the bookmakers provide that can help you. Using our recommended new bookmaker Karamba as an example, for all major ice hockey game, you can access all the statistical data you could ever need. And while past performance in games doesn’t guarantee future results, previous results give a good indication of current form, highly useful for ice hockey betting.
Another great feature available while live ice hockey betting online is streaming. Available at top sites such as bet365, the games are streamed by the bookmaker, enabling you to watch the game no matter where you are. The only requirement to watch the broadcast is by placing a small bet, usually 50p on the game, it will be then available to watch. This is even better enjoyed on an ice hockey betting app.
New Ice Hockey Betting Sites
You may have noticed that the majority of our recommended ice hockey betting sites are well-known names, with brands like Coral and Betway being well known in the UK market. If however, if you fancy a change and would be interested in exploring new ice hockey betting sites, visit our page dedicated to new betting sites.
- £15 Welcome Bonus
- Ice hockey market
- Daily Karamba
- Value odds
We are big fans of having choices, and one of the new bookmakers offers an incredible range of online ice hockey betting opportunities. The bookmaker is Karamba, and at the time of writing, they offered 20 different ice hockey tournaments you can bet on. The main tournaments are offered, but you will also find more obscure markets such as Poland’s Extraliga, Slovakia’s Extraliga, Asian leagues and the Norweigen GET Ligaen.
Ice Hockey Tournament Betting
Now we have covered the basics on how to bet on ice hockey; in this next section, we will explore the different tournaments that you’ll be able to place bets on. As ice hockey is most popular in Canada, central and eastern Europe, the Nordic countries, Russia, and the US, many of the major events are based in those countries. It’s worth mentioning that not all tournaments are available at all bookmakers. However, you’ll find that these events are available at all our recommended ice hockey betting sites.
Euro Tour
Often used as a warm-up for the World Championships or Olympics, the ice hockey Euro Tour features the men’s teams of Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden. The Euro Tour consists of four tournaments; these are the Karjala Tournament in Finland, Channel One Cup in Russia, Sweden Hockey Games in Sweden and Czech Hockey Games in the Czech Republic.
The Tour first started in 1996 and Finland top the medal table with 22 (nine gold, seven silver and six bronze). Russia is a close second on 19 medals (eight gold, six silver and five bronze).
NHL
Contested by 24 American and 7 Canadian teams, the National Hockey League is the premier ice hockey league in the world. Running since 1917, the NHL is one of the oldest major professional sports leagues in the United States. The popularity of the sport, especially Stateside, has been helped by the annual release of Electronic Arts NHL titles. First launched in 1991 for the Sega Megadrive, the yearly release of the game features the sport’s top stars.
The majority of players who compete in the NHL are Canadian (45.3%) or American (27.3%), but the sport has seen a large increase in the number of Swedish (9.9%), Finish (4.3%), Czech (3.8%) and Russian (4.0%) players.
World Championship
The sport’s highest-profile annual international tournament is the Ice Hockey World Championships. First held as part of the 1920 Summer Olympics, the World Championship became a standalone tournament in 1930. The modern-day competition is split into four leagues, Top Division, Division I, Division II and all other teams compete in Division III if more than 40 teams compete.
Great Britain is currently ranked 20th in the current IIHF World Ranking and has had a somewhat yo-yo existence in the competition. In the 56 years of competing, 16 of those have been spent in the Top League, 30 in the second division, eight in the third and two spent in the bottom tier.
FAQ
We’ve reached the end of our ultimate guide to online ice hockey betting, and we hope you have found this page useful. To ensure we have answered all your questions, in this section, we will recap the frequently asked questions we get asked about gambling on the sport and betting sites in general.
How Do You Choose the Best Ice Hockey Betting Sites?
We chose our top ice hockey betting sites based on the customer experience it offers. Functionality is more important than gimmicks, and we like you, want the betting experience to be a fast, enjoyable one with a minimum of fuss. We also demand a high degree of customer support and value in the odds that are offered. Only bookmakers that offer all this will feature as one of our recommended ice hockey betting sites.
Can I Bet on Ice Hockey at all Bookmakers?
Despite enjoying huge popularity around the world, ice hockey betting is not a huge market for UK bookmakers. For this reason, some bookmakers choose to concentrate on big markets such as football and horse racing. We have collated who we believe are the best ice hockey betting sites, they all accept bets on the sport and offer a wide range of markets.
Are all Betting Markets Available for Ice Hockey?
The different types of bets you can place on ice hockey betting will depend on the importance and prestige of the event. For regional league events, you may only see the Team to Win market. For major tournaments, the situation is different and at some bookmakers, the number of markets offered almost rivals that of football. You can find out more information in our betting types section.